Ministry of Environment has started a nationwide anti-plastic campaign as part of the government's plan to phase out the use of single-use plastics in the Maldives.
The campaign was inaugurated by Minister of Environment Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan. At the virtual event, the environment ministry revealed the logo for the campaign and showed a presentation at the virtual event to provide information on the government's plan to phase out the use of single-use plastic in the Maldives.
The plan is a national initiative to phase out the production, importation and consumption of certain single-use plastics into the Maldives, in the effort to protect human health, and the vulnerable marine environment of the country. The ministry stated it will be working with government entities and non-governmental organisations to raise awareness with the aim of reducing the consumption of single-use plastics, and encourage consumers to shift away from single-use plastics, and use sustainable alternatives.
The plan is a commitment of the government to phase-out single-use plastics in the Maldives by 2023, as per the Parliament Resolution of 2019 and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's declaration at the 74th session of the United Nation's General Assembly in 2019. In December 2020, President Solih declared a list of single-use plastics banned for import into the Maldives from June 1, 2021.